Selecting green cover species in the under-trellis zone of Lower Austrian vineyards

Top quality sparkling wines (SW) are mostly produced using the traditional method that implies a second fermentation into the bottle[1]. That is the case of sparkling wines of reputed AOC such as Champagne, Cava or Franciacorta. However, it seems that the first SW was elaborated using the ancestral method in which only one fermentation takes place[2]. That is the case of the classical SW from the AOC Blanquette de Limoux[3]. In both cases, SW age in the bottle during some time in contact with lees favoring yeast’s autolysis[4]. There is a lot of information about traditional method but only few exists about ancestral method. The aim of this work was to compare SW made by the ancestral method with SW made by the traditional method.

Every year, viticulture is facing several outbreaks caused by established diseases, such as downy mildew and grey mould, which possess different life cycles and modes of infection. To cope with these different aggressors, grapevine must recognize them and arm itself with an arsenal of defense strategies.
The regulation of secondary metabolites is one of the first reactions of plants upon pathogen challenge. Their rapid biosynthesis can highly contribute to strengthen the defense mechanisms allowing the plant to adapt, defend and survive.

In the context of global change, the environmental conditions are expected to be more stressful for viticulture. The choice of the rootstock may play a crucial role to improve the adaptation of viticulture to new biotic and abiotic threats (Ollat et al., 2016). However, the selection of interesting traits in rootstock breeding programs is complex because of the combination of multiple targets in a same ideotype. In this sense, the integration of studies about the genetic architecture for desired biotic and abiotic response traits allow us to identify genomic regions to combine and those with interesting pleiotropic effects.

The presence of undesirable compounds in wines, such as OTA, biogenic amines and pesticides residues, affects wine quality and can cause health problems for the consumer. The main tool that a winemaker has to reduce their content in the wine is fining. However, some of the fining agents commonly used in the winery can cause allergies or even increase the protein content in the wine, increasing the turbidity. To avoid these problems, the use of plant fibers may be an alternative, such as those from grape pomace[1] or other plant origins.

Wine flavour is the integration of distinct physiologically defined sensory systems that combine taste, aroma and trigeminal sensations, and it is a key determinant factor for the acceptance of wine by consumers. Volatile compounds, are important contributors to wine flavour, specially to aroma. These small and low-boiling point compounds are easily released into the air allowing to enter and move within the nasal or oral cavities where they can bind the olfactory receptors. Additionally, wine also contains aroma precursors, which are non-volatile compounds, but that can be broken down releasing volatile odorants. During wine tasting, all these chemicals (volatiles and non-volatiles) can be submitted to the action of salivary enzymes.